Summer Snow
by BrightAsTheSun
Summary: Byron, a college student and Dog Theriomorph, comes back to his home town to find that it's not as calm as he remembers. A missing woman, wizards, and psychics, and particularly out of season weather, he feels like this is all too much to handle for one dog who just found out a few months ago his family aren't the only magic users in the world.
1. First Stop: Trouble

Byron doesn't normally find himself in such tricky situations, knives pointed at him, cultists chanting dark phrases, girls he met days prior tied to stone tables, but this summer was turning out really weird so far.

And it all started a week and a half ago, with a train stop in his hometown.

Byron disembarked the train into the evening sun and hot summer air, making him feel immediately gross. He loved running, and he didn't mind breaking a sweat while doing it, but sweating while doing nothing made him feel like he was simmering, a totally different feeling. He was greeted by the familiar sound of the overhead speaker, announcing the stop.

"_Franklin station, Franklin station, departing in 10 minutes."_

But he was already where he needed to be.

He was home from college for the summer, and man this last semester had been absolutely crazy. From the wizards, owl therianthrope, pixie smashing drug dealers, and a ukulele spirit possessing his friend, he needed a break. But unfortunately for him he would have to wait a little while longer before he could get it.

Loud honking echoed across the sparsely filled parking lot of the train station, his mom waving her hands wildly from behind the glass of their family minivan. She was overjoyed to see him, but apparently not so overjoyed as to leave the climate controlled vehicle. Byron totally understood that. He swung open the back door, and threw his one bag in with haste before slamming it closed. He then just as quickly entered the passenger seat of the car, doing his best to not let the AC out.

"Oh my godddd!" His mom yelled, while leaning over the center console to give him kisses on his cheek.  
"How is my big college man? Back from his first year at school- oh my god is that five o'clock shadow?"  
"Hey Mom." Byron said warmly, but with some irritation. He was also excited to see her, but the oppressive heat had made him tired.  
"Well," his mom chimed while releasing him from her grasp, " do you want to go to the diner? Want to get a cold pop?"  
"Yeah Mom that sounds great."  
"Great!" she turned to the steering wheel and put it into drive, pulling through the spot and pulling out of the small parking lot.  
"So tell me about your first year, I feel like you only called me once or twice."  
"Well... it went okay."

He had no idea how to tell his mom about finding out about magic beings besides himself. He didn't want to have to additionally explain how he got caught up in vigilante justice, or explain how he tried to fight a drug kingpin with his bare hands. Or how he lost his friend to the Red Court Vampires. There was just so much stuff to not explain. So he decided to just focus on the school sanctioned extra curriculars.

"Well I am glad to hear you are excelling on the track team, and apparently making new friends."  
"Yeah well, you know being a college student is hard, but I got that can do attitude." he said starting to be more awake after sitting in the AC for a few minutes.  
"You never were alone growing up so it doesn't surprise me you made new friends quickly." she remarked.  
"Op, we're here." she said pulling into the parking lot for Dusty's Diner.

He had been coming here since he was a kid, but this would be the first year he was allowed inside after 7 PM. That was when it turned into 18+ only, and he had turned 18 while he was away at school.

Although something seemed off, the door was broken in the wrong direction, the glass scattered on the ground. Byron felt his attention suddenly shift into focus.

"Oh my god," said his mom. "I am going to call 911."

But Byron had already exited the vehicle. In his white t-shirt and track pants, he wasn't that menacing standing at 5'9". But after last semester he had changed the way he treated situations like this. He used to generally keep to himself, and stay loyal to his friends, but recently he had started to like the feeling of danger. Helping people was a nice bonus.

He rushed in the front door and laying on the ground was Dusty himself, apparently dazed.  
To the left of him on the ground next to a bar stool a few feet away was a sleeveless hoodie, with a small splash of blood immediately next to it.

Byron got down, and turned over Dusty, carefully handling him in case any bones were broken.  
"Dusty... Dusty? Come on old man, what happened?" he said gently jostling him while holding his head.  
Dusty stirred and said,  
"Stacey, they took Stacey." he then looked to the seat a few feet away and pointed.  
That was all Byron needed to know before he had a reason to spring into action.

He set down old man Dusty, and leapt over to the hoodie on the ground. He picked it up with one hand, and shoved his nose into it and inhaled deeply. In that same moment he realized out of context that was probably pretty weird, but he tried not to think about that right now, he had more pressing matters. He put the hoodie back down and ran into the bathroom. He stripped all of his clothes off, again strange out of context, but this is the weird part. He focused on himself, his inner self, and then he felt his form shift.

Scents became sharper, sounds louder, and he became a little shorter. He hand changed into his Mastiff form, his short blonde hair had turned into shorter dirtier blond hair, and his four paws were planted firmly on the ground. He did his best to fold up his clothes with his mouth, and then picked them up. He darted out of the bathroom, out the front door, and to the car door he had left open.

"Byron!" yelled his mom, while holding one hand over the phone receiver, "Where do you think you are going?"

"Arf!" Byron barked back at her. He had a lost woman to find. He jumped back into the parking lot and looked around, deeply inhaling the air in an attempt to find her trail. It was easier since the day was so hot, everyone had been sweating more than usual, and so the trail hung in the air more readily that it would have otherwise, and it went down the main road out of town. Byron knew what he had to do and he took off sprinting.


	2. The Trail Goes Cold

Byron felt the wind blowing pass his snout and it felt great. His adrenaline was pumping. He had a job to do and that was driving him. He wasn't the kind of person who could just sit by and let bad things happen to other people while he just stood around. Thankfully he was also good at chasing things, and following his nose.

After Byron transforms he takes the form of a Mastiff, only a foot or so shorter than he normally is. He retains his good physique, but gains all of the abilities of the dog, and a little more. He ends up leaving weird goo behind when he morphs back to a human, but that always tends to evaporate rather quickly. Unfortunately for him the dog smell doesn't go away as easily. His roommate used to get mad at him for this, although he figured with what happened last semester that wouldn't be so much of a problem anymore.

He kept following the scent trail, down main, and past the boulevard, over the guardrail and to the edge of the woods. He paused, sniffed around and listened for a few seconds. The wind caught the scent a blew past his face and he took off, paws stamping on the ground with determination. He would find her.  
Stacey Le'share was an assistant teacher at the local high school. Before Byron went away to school in Boston, he attended the high school where she had taught. He never was in any of her classes, but the other kids he went to school with seemed to like her nice enough. He knew her because she would always hang out at Dusty's Diner and often chatted with his Mom, although he didn't really know about what. However, he knew her well enough to know that getting abducted by some stranger wasn't what she deserved, and he was gonna find her.

He started up after the scent again, running into the woods. He bounded around trees, ducked under branches, and jumped over bushes, occasionally stopping to make sure he was still following the trail. Doing his best not to be distracted by animals around him. He kept searching through the woods until he came upon a stream. That's where the scent stopped.

He looked around the scene, trying his best to find something relevant and that's when he noticed it. The air around him actually felt nice. Compared to the sweltering heat he felt earlier on his way to the train station the air felt. It was cool almost. He looked around a bit before his eyes settled on the side of the stream. There was remnants of ice, melting away at the side of the stream. If he had been moments later he might not have seen it, but he was lucky enough to get there in time.

Ice? That didn't make any sense. It was mid 90's and the humidity was disgusting right now. There is no conditions in which ice should exist on the side of this stream, especially in non-cube form. It was definitely some kind of magic. Between the fairies, whom he had a close encounter with too many times already, and just general demonic nonsense he assumed the latter. Although he hoped he was wrong. Byron didn't enjoy fighting creatures of the night. Fae he felt like he had some grasp on how they worked, don't make promises, generally don't talk to them, smack them real good if they act up. But demons, that stuff was on a whole other level as far as he was concerned.

He bent forward to get a better sniff, and that was a decision he almost immediately regretted. What he smelled was hard to describe. It reminded him of graveyards, it reminded him of old churches, and it reminded him of the Nevernever. The smell of ice and death. Something about what he whiffed, which he knew was magic, felt sinister. The Fae in general felt wild, felt earthly. This was sinister in a way he couldn't really connect to anything he had experienced. The description of which evaded him, but caught his attention perniciously like a wasp flying close to your ear. He shivered, and shook his fur out to shake off the gross feeling then made a half whining half sighing sound as he laid down for a moment. He tried to process what he just felt.

To take count of the situation. He knew he could be up against something far more deadly than the things he had encountered before. He knew Stacey was missing, and he knew those two things were linked. And unfortunately he knew he had lost the trail, and that meant that Stacey could be hurt, or who knows what. The involvement of this magic stuff just complicated things a lot further. Hit and run, kidnapping, the police can handle that kind of thing. But Ice Magic, maybe fairies or demons. That would be up to him, and he had never tackled anything like that before by himself. He had never really done anything magical by himself.

He stared out over the stream letting his eyes unfocus, panting as the exercise caught up to him and the air returned to normal temperature. That's when he noticed it. A trifold wallet on the other side of the stream. He stood up with a start and barked lightly with excitement. Finally a lucky break! He waded through the water, still cold compared to the air, and thought to himself about the wet dog smell. When he got to the other side he attempted to open the wallet using his paws and his mouth, but the small latch on the outside was making it difficult. He decided the only way that he could open it was by using thumbs, which annoyed him, but he dealt with it and shifted back to his human form.

It always takes a small amount of effort to shift, and he ends up getting covered in the goo that is part of the transformation. The goo makes up the dog parts and matter that Byron just lacks in his body, so it makes sense that it covers him when he morphs back. The second annoying part though, was now he was just a naked teen squatting in the woods. Not a good look.

He shook his hand free of the goo and reached down to pick up the wallet with his left hand, opening the clasp with his right, and examined the contents of the wallet. A few shop loyalty cards, like three bucks, and an ID. The ID read, Drake Wirld and it said his address right under it. Organ donor, brown eyes. Looking at the picture there the guy obviously wasn't having a great day when he had this picture taken. The thing that surprised Byron the most though was how Mister Wirld here was apparently only 20. Well at least this was a start.

That's when suddenly he heard a rustling behind him and the sound of a twig snapping. His heart raced and shivers went up his spine. That's when he heard a voice call out to him.  
"Byron?"  
"Uh-oh."


	3. The Talk

Byron leaned against the car door of the minivan as they drove down the road back to their house.

"What did I tell you about just running off," his mom continued, "What if someone else found you naked in the woods with some man's wallet? It's public indecency! Not to mention you chased after someone who could have been extremely dangerous!"

"I know Mom."  
"I know Mom? Is that all you have to say for yourself? I haven't seen you in two months and suddenly you become flippant and reckless? You used to be a good kid! I knew going off to college would change you but I didn't think that-"

"Mom oh my god, I am not like suddenly a different person! Things happened. Sorry I didn't call you, but I grew as a person while I was away. Not to mention I found out we weren't the only magic people on the planet."

Her face went aghast.  
"Yeah, thought you were real slick with that one huh? How long were you gonna keep that from me? I had to find out by witnessing one of my best friends get abducted by Red Court Vampires!"  
Byron sat forward in his chair, and turned to face the side of his mom, his eyes filled with hurt.  
"Now she is a fledgling, and my hope for getting her back is lessening each day. So yeah, forgive me for springing into action. I didn't want a repeat with Miss Stacey!"  
Byron huffed and settled back into his seat.  
They sat in a tense silence for a few more minutes before pulling up to the house.  
Byron got out and took his bag out with him, closing the door behind him. He tried to slam it but the stupid auto closing feature made it move to slowly and that just made him even more perturbed. He let out a frustrated grunt.

"Byron wait, we are not done talking about this." his mom called after him as he opened his front door and stormed upstairs.  
They lived in a middle sized house off of one of the main roads of Franklin. The house would be small for a family of four, but for Byron and his mom it was a decent amount of space. Byron was on the second floor alone, and his mom's bedroom was on the first floor past the kitchen.  
Byron flopped onto his familiar bed and inhaled. The air smelled somewhat stale, which he guessed was a good thing, it means his mom hadn't gone through his room while he was gone. His heart was still racing. He just wanted to do the right thing, and now he was yelling at his mom. He took in a deep breath and let out a deeper sigh. He realized he was acting like a child, and if he was going to get to the bottom of this and save the person than he would actually need his mom's help.

He stood from his bed, and looked around his room. Posters of athletes on the wall. A picture or two of him and his mom. His desk, with his old computer on it, complete with a boxxed monitor. His closet, and his empty hamper inside. He realized that even though the air smelled somewhat stale, his mom had actually cleaned and dusted before he arrived. He made his way to the door of his room and opened it, coming face to face with his mom who was getting ready to knock.

"Byron," she said startled at the timing of the door. "Look sweetie I didn't mean to hurt you by not telling you-"  
"No mom, I was wrong to yell at you. There has just been a lot going on in my life, that I wish I was more prepared for. I took that frustration out on you and I am sorry."

The tension his mom had been holding in her shoulders released, and her look of worry softened. She was slightly shorter than Byron, but that meant that when she went in for a hug, it was even more comforting. She was a good hugging size.

"Oh Byron, I am sorry I wasn't there for you, I should have prepared you better for what you were going to be facing out there. I had hoped that somehow magic wouldn't find it's way to you and you would just think that our family was special," she pulled away from the hug to look him in the face, "but I see now that was naive. I treated you like a child, even though I can clearly see now that you are a man," she licked her finger and fixed an errant hair in his eyebrow, "or at least becoming one."

Byron chuckled a little before saying, "It's okay mom. I forgive you. I wouldn't know how to tell me either."

"And I forgive you for yelling at me. I didn't listen to you. But don't ever raise your voice at me like that again, we can just talk about it next time." She pulled fully away and started downstairs.

"Come on, there is some stuff I want to show you."

Byron's mom lead him down to the basement where she pulled out some old photo books. She showed him pictures of her when she was younger, and showed him pictures of her at the Diner.

"You have been surrounded by somewhat remarkable people your whole life Byron. The Diner, after hours is where all the local, somewhat magical people spend time."

She showed him a picture of her with Dusty, except in the pictures old Dusty has hair, which was hard for Byron to imagine until he saw it. She turned the pages, and explained how they hid it from him, wanted him to be normal. If he just kept his transforming to himself, no one would ever have to know. Except with the caveat of his spouse she added.

"When I brought you home, you turned into a puppy almost immediately." she shared with him.

"I guess you may remember that much, when you were younger you would always go around the house that way, instead of walking. We had to train that out of you before you went to pre-k though."

She showed him more pictures. Then she turned to one of Byron and a small girl with big dark curly hair.

"Oh wait!" Byron exclaimed, "I know her. Oh shit what was her name..." he rubbed the side of his head and closed his eyes, the dark basement lit by a single bulb was not an ideal environment for remembering things.

"Oh you mean Rebecca? Rebecca Claire? You would hang out all the time! I remember I used to leave you at the Claire's house sometimes when I needed to leave for business reasons back when I still worked in that office."

She flipped the pages, and there were more pictures of the two of them.

"Why did we stop hanging out?" Byron asked.

"Well... her mother and I disagreed on how magical children should be raised and we got into a yelling match about it one time. She said that if we didn't let you use your powers than we would just be disadvantaging you... I can see why she would say that. I mean her daughter is a psychic, and you are a dog-morph. Obviously the situation is different, I -"

"Mom that's it!" Byron interjected, "she can help us!"

"Find the man who hurt Stacey? How's that?"

"Because I found this in the woods!" Byron pulled out the ID with the sketchy man's picture on it.

"She can help us search for the guy, who dropped his wallet. He would definitely be thinking about it, and we can have her read minds and find him!"

"Oh okay, I mean I guess that makes sense, but I am not sure if she can-"

"Where do they live mom, I can run over there right now!"

"But Byron it's dinner, and your first day back and I don't -"

"Mom, come on we just talked about this, tell me so I can help get this guy!"

His mom stared at him for a few moments.

"Okay." she nodded and then told him her address before Byron bounded up the stairs, out of the basement. He put on his running shoes, and patted himself to make sure he had his wallet, keys and phone in his pockets. Then he rushed out the door. He was going to find her, then he was going to find this Drake Wirld character, and stop whatever nefarious things he was planning. He just hoped that this next part would go smoothly.


End file.
